


diplomacy

by rangerhitomi



Series: radical dreamers [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Past Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-15 03:58:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4592073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>durbe seems so unhappy in his kingdom. nasch offers him a way out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	diplomacy

Nasch’s kingdom is warm; the sun shines in the daytime while it storms at night. His palace is open to all of his people for refuge and audiences, and the hallways are lined with soft rugs and thin silk curtains. His people eat from the ocean and give thanks to the gods for providing.

Durbe’s kingdom is cold; it is in the mountains where a layer of snow has recently fallen. The palace is closely guarded at all entrances, and the hallways are windowless, freezing, and uninviting. The people compete for food and resources, and they have only one god, whom they seem to fear.

 The two kingdoms could not be more different, and Nasch finds himself wary of Durbe’s king’s intentions. Nasch sees no practical benefit of tearing down trees to mine for ore, not when food is scarce at this time and the people often go to bed hungry.

He tells Durbe so.

Durbe listens patiently as Nasch rambles, and when Nasch catches himself repeating the same thing over again, he stops.

“It’s cold in here,” he says abruptly, and _cold_ isn’t even accurate enough, but there’s no word in his language that describes anything colder than, well, _cold_.

The knight reaches out a gloved hand, touches Nasch’s thin ceremonial garb. “I did tell you not to pack silks for this meeting,” he says, lips twitching upward in amusement.

It isn’t as though Nasch owns anything _other_ than silks. “Maybe you should consider warming the hallway for your guests. Poor diplomacy on your part, Durbe.”

Durbe’s smile falters, and his hand slides down the silks until his hand rests on Nasch’s elbow. Nasch glances down at it for a second before looking back at Durbe’s face. “Of course,” Durbe says calmly. “I’ll get you my spare clothing. It should be—“

He releases Nasch’s arm abruptly as a group of knights rounds the corner. He doesn’t look at them, but bows his head to acknowledge them. His eyes are downcast, brows furrowed.

Nasch has no such reservations about looking the other knights in the eyes; they cast scornful looks at the younger knight as they pass by.

“What the hell—“ Nasch begins, but Durbe prods him along, placing his hand on Nasch’s lower back.

“They don’t understand,” Durbe breathes as they walk down the cold corridor.

“Understand what?”

“Why you’re here. Why I’m—“ Durbe stops in front of a door, exhales sharply. After glancing up and down the hall, he opens the door and ushers Nasch inside. It’s dark; Durbe crosses the room to light a lamp before walking past Nasch again.

Nasch waits.

Durbe slams the door shut, leans against it, and closes his eyes. “My friend, I—“

“What don’t they understand, Durbe?”

“Why you’re here.” Durbe doesn’t look at him, but fiddles with the door handle. It’s as though he wants to leave Nasch in this room alone and run away.

“Yeah, you said that,” Nasch says wryly. He steps closer. “What about it is concerning you so much, Durbe?”

Sure enough, Durbe turns to open the door, but Nasch gets there first. He pushes it closed, and now he’s standing less than an arm’s width away from the knight. Durbe has such a young face; he seems to only recently have lost the baby fat in his cheeks. There’s a storm in the grey-blue eyes he turns upward to meet Nasch’s – a storm of conflict, of confusion.

 “You’re the prince of a peaceful island kingdom,” Durbe says in a quiet voice. “Their kingdom – my kingdom – is… warlike. They came here from far away for riches and glory and—“ He leans his head back against the door. “Worse, they think I’m… being corrupted when I spend time with you. And—and your kingdom.”

Nasch has a sudden suspicion.

“Are you safe here?” he whispers to Durbe, who closes his eyes. It’s all the verification Nasch needs. “Durbe—“

“They’re right, though,” Durbe goes on in a rush. His eyes are still closed. “They wanted me to get you to agree to terms that are favorable to them but will damn your kingdom. I… I…” He makes a strange gesture with his hand in front of his chest. “My friend, I’m… very… fond of you.”

Nasch lifts both eyebrows, and Durbe opens his eyes.

They look at each other for a second.

“Well,” Nasch says finally, “I think that _fondness_ means something different in your culture than in mine.”

Durbe’s face turns red. “I think about you,” he mumbles. “When we’re not… God, this is really…”

Nasch touches Durbe’s forearm, and the knight flinches. “We can leave tonight, Durbe. Go back to my kingdom where you’ll be safe.” _Where you can be yourself._  

“I can’t just leave.” Durbe’s voice trembles. “If I go, it will strain the relationship between our—“

Nasch grabs Durbe’s hand and pulls him away from the door, into the middle of the small, cold room. All there is in the room is a lumpy bed on the floor and a table with a backless chair. If this is Durbe’s room, it is no wonder Durbe seems miserable here. “I don’t want a relationship with your kingdom, Durbe. It does not make me comfortable.”

The lamp flickers. Durbe lets out a shaky breath and pulls his hand away. But he leans closer. “I should take you back to your home, then.”

“Only if you stay there with me.”

Durbe bites his lip. “I don’t…”

“You’re not happy here. You’re miserable.”

Durbe doesn’t have anything to say to that.

Nasch places a hand on Durbe’s shoulder. “I will raise your pay and give you a room with an ocean view.”

For the first time, Durbe laughs shakily. “Are you… bribing me, my friend?”

“Is it working?”

There’s a smile there, now. Even in the dim, flickering lamplight, Nasch can see it. “It’s a tempting offer.”

He’s not sure which of them leans into the kiss first, but gods… it’s nice. It’s nice, even though Durbe’s chin is trembling and his hands are alternating from his side to Nasch’s waist to hanging in the air uncertainly. It’s Durbe who breaks it first.

“Ah… my spare clothes are…”

“Not important,” Nasch interrupts. His heart is beating rapidly. He’d never realized he… He shakes his head and takes Durbe’s hand again. “We’re going home. Both of us. Right now.” A tiny smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. “You can warm me on the way.”

Durbe’s strangled whine is worth the remark. 


End file.
